In Tuesday’s YourWeatherBlog, I wrote that a significant severe weather threat is beginning to take shape for the southern and central Plains this coming weekend and early next week. With this update, I’m confirming that the severe weather is still on track and still on target. Every weather event comes more into focus as the [...]
A couple of articles caught my eye over the past few days. The first was posted last Thursday, “New Icelandic Volcano Eruption Could Have Global Impact.” The second followed almost immediately on Friday, “Katla Volcano Eruption Fears Played Down by Icelandic Scientists and Tourism Officials.”
You can see where I’m going, right? A potentially imminent, global impact-type of volcanic eruption is being downplayed by Icelandic scientists and tourism officials. Who do you believe? Who wants your money? Who stands the most to gain (or lose)? Who is right? What do you do?
Just a few hours ago (0948 UTC), 13 stories worth of Delta II rocket lifted the newest weather research satellite into polar orbit on a mission to provide the beginnings of the next generation of Earth observing and monitoring from space.
This morning’s low of 19 is the lowest September temperature ever recorded for International Falls. A bit further to the south, Duluth recorded snowfall yesterday — another record for the earliest snowfall ever recorded in Duluth.
Though it seems quiet, the ImpactWeather TropicsWatch team is keeping a watchful eye on four active disturbances and one suspect area on Africa’s West Coast. Additionally, areas like the eastern Caribbean, the western Tropical Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico are climatological hot spots for development, while the peak of hurricane season (September 10th) draws closer every day.
Flurries (northern Metro Houston) and sleet (coastal areas near Galveston) have already been reported this morning. This afternoon though is when the precipitation should begin in earnest with accumulations in some areas nearing five inches of snow by tomorrow morning and other areas accumulating 1/4-inch of ice or perhaps even more.
Rolling blackouts are what we awoke to this morning in Houston. The outdoor thermometer read 26° and the power companies are struggling to keep pace with demand. The house was still warm and it certainly wasn’t the end of the world — this New England Yankee can handle some cold! But my cats seemed to [...]
It’s all coming together in dramatic fashion today as record snowfall threatens not only such places as Chicago who are accustomed to heavy snowfall, but places like Houston and perhaps even Corpus Christi where measurable snowfall is a rarity. Accompanying the snow, strong winds and frigid temperatures where in the South especially, temperatures will not just dip low, they dip low and stay there for several days. Wind chill readings of -20 and colder will be common.
Snow, ice, wind, cold, prolonged cold. It’s all in the near future for many areas not used to seeing such weather extremes.
There are still lots of questions about what will happen when next week’s Arctic air mass pushes south across the Plains (when, how cold, where). And because substantial overrunning of warm, humid Gulf air is expected, additional questions muddy the situation (rain, snow, freezing rain, when, where).